INNOVATION . . . INFORMATION . . . INSPIRATION . . .

   July 7, 2009                                      Inaugural Issue   

With this inaugural issue,  the American Round Table, committed to the abolition of homelessness through innovative initiatives and strategic solutions, brings you a new source of news and insight to accomplish the mission. Featured here are excerpts from a recent Street Sense interview with Philip F. Mangano as he prepared  to end his seven year tenure as Executive Director of the United States  Interagency Council on Homelessness. An economist by day, Street Sense reporter Robert Blair and Editor
 Mary Otto, a former Washington
Post reporter,  and the dedicated staff and
entrepreneurial vendors represent a significant professional volunteer commitment that is a strong voice in the media dialogue about solutions to homelessness.

Departing "Homeless Czar" Lauds Progress - By Robert Blair, Street Sense (Excerpts) 

The day after announcing he would step down May 15 as Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Philip Mangano was in Cambridge, Mass. meeting with the Dalai Lama. Two days after he leaves, he will be in Tacoma, Wash., delivering a commencement address at the University of Puget Sound and receiving an honorary doctorate for his efforts to help end chronic homelessness. [Mr. Mangano is a member of the Board of Directors of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT. He is shown below with the Dalai Lama at the inaugural meeting of the Board.]
That coast-to-coast finale nicely symbolizes the role Mangano has played over the last seven years as a cross-country proselytizer for the Housing First strategy. That approach prioritizes housing and individualized supportive services for the most vulnerable and disabled homeless - and stresses the importance of developing local 10-Year Plans to guide the effort.

"I was honored to serve for the first 100 days of the Obama administration," Mangano told Street Sense, "but seven years is a long time to be here, and it's time for new ideas and new leadership."

In announcing his departure, Mangano summarized the Council's legacy as "More resources than ever before - decreases in street and chronic homelessness - unprecedented political will - and unprecedented research and planning."

Most important, he asserted, were the Council's efforts "to move the dialogue and response from good intentions and well-meaning programs to innovative solutions informed by cost studies  and cost/benefit analyses documenting the economic impact of homelessness." The findings of those studies, Mangano said, have had an impact on the political will to adopt effective programs that can end, not just manage, homelessness. [Mr. Mangano is shown here delivering the 2009 Commencement Address at the University of Puget Sound. To read Mr. Mangano's full remarks, click here.]

Although he lauded the accomplishment of a nationwide 12% reduction in overall homelessness between 2005 and 2007, and a 30% decline in chronic homelessness, Mangano recognized that the recession would create new challenges for his successor.
 He takes satisfaction in that fact that, unlike the empty office and card-board boxes he found when he began in March 2002, his successor will start with an extremely competent staff, an independent agency, a bigger (if still modest) budget, and a set of field tested strategies for fighting homelessness. [Mr. Mangano is shown here receiving an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the University of Puget Sound 2009 commencement.]

"I've tried to instill a sense of hopefulness," Mangano said. "A lot of good things have been done; and I do not doubt that the new administration will continue the trajectory."

Quoting Einstein's observation that "In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity," Mangano said of the current recession "You can hide under your desk and wait for the bad times to go away, or you can look for the opportunities."

He listed what he sees as three current opportunities: The stimulus package funds targeted for homelessness, the drop in housing costs, and the new resources in President Obama's proposed budget. "Ironically," he observed, "there are more resources on the table for addressing homelessness than ever before."
 




Philip Mangano's new email address is:
philip.mangano@
abolitionistroundtable.com
 
 

 

Thanks to Street Sense for permission to reprint the interview.  To read the entire interview in the May 13 issue of Street Sense, click here.


Thanks to Donna Coveney, MIT, and The Dalai Lama Center for the inaugural event photo.

Thanks to Ross Mulhausen/University of Puget Sound for the UPS commencement photos.



 
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